Author Guidelines

THECRED: Proceedings of the Theology and Religious Education Dialogue welcomes original scholarly manuscripts derived from papers presented at conferences, seminars, symposia, and academic forums. Authors are required to observe the following guidelines. Manuscripts that do not comply may be returned without review.

1. General Requirements
Manuscripts must be original work that has not been published previously and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Submissions may be written in English (preferred) or Indonesian. All manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the OJS platform at https://ojs.sttrealbatam.ac.id/index.php/THECRED. Authors are required to register for an ORCID iD (https://orcid.org) and include it during submission.

2. Manuscript Structure
All manuscripts should follow the structure below:

Title. Maximum 14 words, written in Title Case, bold, 18 pt font size. The title should be concise, informative, and free of abbreviations.

Author Information. Full name(s) without academic titles, institutional affiliation(s), city, country, and corresponding author's email address. Each author's affiliation is indicated using superscript numbers. Do not include author identifying information in the manuscript file for blind review purposes; enter it only in the OJS metadata fields.

Abstract. Written in English and Indonesian (bilingual). Maximum 200 words per abstract, written in past tense. The abstract should provide a concise account of the Background, Aim, Setting, Methods, Results, and Conclusion. Do not cite references or use excessive abbreviations. The abstract must conclude with a labelled Contribution statement (maximum 50 words) stating the primary contribution of the manuscript.

Keywords. 3–5 keywords, separated by semicolons (;).

Main Text. The body of the manuscript follows this structure:

Section 1, Introduction. Must present: (a) the social and scientific value of the study, supported by literature; (b) a review of prior research and the knowledge gap the study addresses; (c) the theoretical or conceptual framework where applicable; and (d) a clear statement of the study aim and objectives in the final paragraph. Minimum three paragraphs. All sources must be cited using APA 7th edition in-text format.

Section 2, Methods. Describe the research approach and design. For empirical research, this section must include: research design (e.g., qualitative case study, quantitative survey, mixed methods, action research, biblical-hermeneutical, library research); setting and context; population, sampling strategy, and sample size justification; data collection instruments and their validity; data analysis procedures; and ethical considerations, including the name of the ethics committee, approval number, type of informed consent obtained, and data confidentiality measures.

Section 3, Results and Discussion. Results should be presented in a logical sequence that addresses the aim and objectives. Tables and figures must be numbered consecutively (Table 1, Figure 1), introduced by a sentence before they appear, and followed by an explanation of their significance. Table captions are placed below the table; figure captions are placed below the figure. The Discussion must address: (a) key findings; (b) relation to prior work; (c) strengths and limitations; and (d) implications or recommendations.

Section 4, Conclusion. The conclusion must answer the research problem directly. It is not a summary of the article. Do not include citations or quotations. Write in narrative form, not in numbered points. Brief recommendations for practice or future research may be included where appropriate.

References. Minimum 20 references, maximum 60. Follow APA 7th edition format. Prioritize journal articles published within the last 10 years. All DOIs should be verified using CrossRef Simple Text Query (apps.crossref.org). References must be managed using reference management software such as Mendeley or Zotero, and listed in alphabetical order.

3. Formatting Requirements
Manuscripts must be prepared according to the following specifications:

  • File format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx)
  • Paper size: A4
  • Body text: Times New Roman, 12 pt
  • Title: Times New Roman, 18 pt, bold
  • Line spacing: 1.15
  • Margins: 2.5 cm on all sides
  • Paragraph alignment: Justified
  • Tables: No vertical lines; caption placed below
  • Figures: Minimum 300 dpi resolution; caption placed below

Authors are strongly encouraged to use the official THECRED manuscript template, available for download on the proceedings website.

4. Citation Style
THECRED uses APA 7th Edition for in-text citations and reference lists.

In-text citation examples:

  • Single author: (Wright, 2018)
  • Two authors: (Simanjuntak & Pasaribu, 2023)
  • Three or more authors: (Bunge et al., 2021)
  • Direct quotation: (Tillich, 1951, p. 47)

5. Ethical Requirements
Authors must submit an originality statement confirming the manuscript is their own work. All manuscripts will be screened for plagiarism using Turnitin. A maximum similarity index of 25% is permitted, excluding references and properly cited quotations. Research involving human participants must include a statement of ethical approval or informed consent. Any use of AI-assisted tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Grammarly AI, paraphrasing tools) must be transparently declared, specifying the tool used and the extent of its application.

6. Submission Checklist
Before submitting, authors should confirm that: the manuscript has not been previously published or submitted elsewhere; the file is in .doc or .docx format; the abstract is provided in both English and Indonesian (maximum 200 words each) with 3–5 keywords; author identifying information has been removed from the manuscript file; references follow APA 7th edition style with a minimum of 20 entries; all co-authors have agreed to the submission and the author order; ORCID iD(s) are provided in the OJS metadata; and any AI-tool usage has been declared.

7. Submission Process
Register or log in at the THECRED OJS portal. Begin a new submission, upload the manuscript file (blinded), enter all metadata (title, abstract, keywords, author details, ORCID), upload any supplementary files if applicable, then confirm and complete the submission. Authors will receive an acknowledgment email upon successful submission. The editorial process typically takes 4–8 weeks from submission to decision.